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воскресенье, 5 октября 2014 г.

Nine UN peacekeepers from Niger killed in ambush by rebels in Mali

Fears for future of UN mission
to support Bamako government against Islamists insurgency after pullout by
French troops

Nine United Nations
peacekeepers in Mali were killed when heavily armed gunmen on motorbikes
ambushed their convoy on Friday, the deadliest attack yet on UN troops in Mali,
the mission said.

The attack on the peacekeepers
from Niger took place in the Gao region and highlighted a sharp increase in
strikes on foreign troops, who were sent to Mali to prevent the return of
al-Qaida-linked Islamists who seized the desert in northern Mali in 2012.

“I am horrified by this
cowardly act of terrorism ... Once again, lives have been lost today in the
name of peace in Mali,” Arnauld Akodjenou, deputy head of the UN mission known
as Minusma, said.

A UN spokesman, Olivier
Salgado, said the attack took place between the north-eastern towns of Menaka
and Ansongo. There were no reports of further UN troops being injured.

The U.N. UN mission said
aircraft had been dispatched to secure the zone, which is near Mali’s border
with Niger.

A security source said the
peacekeepers were attacked in a dip in the road as it crossed a dry river bed.

UN peacekeepers have been
deployed across Mali’s north in an effort to secure the country after the
separatists and Islamists took advantage of the power vacuum created by a coup
in the capital in 2012 to seize the northern regions.

The Islamists were scattered by
French forces early last year, elections have been held and rebels who
distanced themselves from extremist groups have begun talks with the Bamako
government. But the peace process is moving slowly and Malian government troops
abandoned most positions in the north earlier this year after clashes with
rebels.

Since then, Mali has called on
the UN mission to deploy more of its mandated force of 12,000 men in the north,
which is awash with smugglers as well as various rebels.

However, diplomats say there is
increasing concern that UN peacekeepers who are not trained or equipped for
counter-insurgency warfare are overexposed.

Ten Chadian peacekeepers were
killed in Mali last month, prompting accusations from Chad that its troops were
being neglected by the UN mission.

The spike in attacks on troops
comes as France has redeployed some of its forces away from Mali as part of a
plan to have 3,000 soldiers fighting extremists across the Sahara-Sahel band.

“There is lot of concern at the
moment,” said one Bamako-based diplomat. “There have been concerns since the
early French drawdowns [of troops]. But the bad guys seem to have access to
much more expertise and kit now too.”

Facts from History

CEDAW

UNSCR 1325

Strategy for engagement and joint actions on confidence building and P2P diplomacy that involve women. Final Report

YOUTH PEACE PLAN OF GEORGIA

This publication is produced within the framework of the project - ‘‘Support Democratic Participation of Young Women in Building Peace and Stability in Georgia’’ implemented in Georgia by International Network for Civil Development - INCD in partnership with Young Women Experts’ Network for Peace and Security (YWEPS) and with the financial support of the Embassy of Canada through Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).